


Fantasia 2020

by ChokolatteJedi



Category: Fantasia (1940), Fantasia 2000 (1999)
Genre: Classical Music, Disney References, Embedded Video, Experimental Style, Gen, Inspired by Music, Interactive Fiction, Music
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:33:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27607687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChokolatteJedi/pseuds/ChokolatteJedi
Summary: Welcome to Fantasia 2020. Each piece you are about to see follows in the traditions of the original Fantasia and Fantasia 2000.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 11
Collections: 2020 Disney Animated Movie Exchange (DAM Exchange)





	1. Fantasia 2020

**Author's Note:**

  * For [silveradept](https://archiveofourown.org/users/silveradept/gifts).



> Your prompt grabbed me and I had to claim the PH. I hope you like it!  
> Not beta-read, all mistakes are mine.  
> Thanks so much to Fluffy, htbthomas, and Crantz for the various help!

Welcome to Fantasia 2020. Each piece you are about to see follows in the traditions of the original Fantasia and Fantasia 2000. It is the hope of our studio to produce a new Fantasia series every few decades. Fantasia gives us the chance to experiment, both with art styles and with music. Another piece of the Fantasia legacy is the incorporation of old segments with the new. In addition to _The Firebird Suite_ from Fantasia 2000 and a very special surprise from the original, in this release we bring you six brand new pieces. Now, please sit back, relax, and enjoy _Fantasia 2020._

~o~O~o~

Our first piece is inspired by the awesome images of space that NASA has obtained over the years. Their amazing cameras are constantly improving, and they are discovering new things about our corner of the universe on a regular basis. Their use of different spectral cameras to show things invisible to the eye is remarkably similar to the way that artists and animators use layered programs to create our works.

And what better way to tour our solar system than to music written specifically for it? Gustav Holst was from a long line of musicians, and looked to follow in their footsteps, until a medical condition limited his playing. At that point, he took up composing, and eventually combined it with a love of astrology to create his most well known work, _The Planets_.

 _The Planets_ is an orchestral suite in seven parts, one for each planet (excluding Pluto and the Earth). Each one had a distinct sound, befitting the character of the planet in Holst’s mind. We love each piece of the suite, but, having to pick just one for this project, we decided to start with the first movement: _Mars, the Bringer of War_.

~o~O~o~

Next we have a piece featuring the music of French composer and conductor Hector Berlioz. You’ve probably studied the Romanticism movement before, either in the work of poets like Keats and Shelley, or artists like Géricault and Turner. But Berlioz was one of the musical Romantics, and he wrote the _Symphonie Fantastique_ for, what else, a girl. Berlioz saw the actress performing on stage and fell in love, then wrote the Symphonie to express his unrequited feelings. Of course, that isn’t what our team thought of when they listened to it.

Though the fourth movement, when his love is spurned, is called _Marche au supplice_ or _March to the Scaffold,_ there are no scaffolds to be found in the following piece. Just the quiet serenity of new snowfall, the sharp lines of ice skates, and a moose in plaid flannel.

~o~O~o~

Walt Disney’s original concept for Fantasia included repeated viewings, where some segments would be taken out of rotation and others added in. Fantasia 2000 upheld this concept by including one piece from the original in its lineup: _The Sorcerer's Apprentice_. Here, we include a piece from Fantasia 2000: _The Firebird Suite_.

~o~O~o~

Our fourth piece is inspired by the art nouveau style of the early twentieth century. Influenced by the natural curves of plants and flowers, art nouveau also explored modern materials, such as glass, iron, and concrete. This is particularly demonstrated in the spectacular stained glass work created by artists of the time. You’re probably most familiar with the Tiffany lamp, but there were many such pieces made.

To pair with this art style, we chose the second movement, known as the Adagio, of the _Concierto de Aranjuez_. This work, created by Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo, is a concerto written for the spanish guitar and symphony. One of the most significant Spanish composers of his time, his work is all the more impressive when you consider that Rodrigo had gone blind as a child, and all of his works were composed in braille. Rodrigo wrote _Concierto de Aranjuez_ in 1939, just a short while after the peak of the art nouveau style.

To honor his heritage, our piece took inspiration from Spanish architecture, and we open on a hill outside a small village.

~o~O~o~

Our next piece is set to the second movement of Franz Schubert’s _String Quartet Number 10_. Schubert wrote this in 1813, when he was just _sixteen_ , and was initially performed by his family. For this reason, it became known as the _Household Quartet_. We decided to theme this piece around another household, as you’ll see.

As has become tradition in Fantasia, we like to include a piece with one of the Disney regular characters. In the first collection, this was Mickey Mouse in _the Sorcerer's Apprentice_. In the second, Donald and Daisy Duck featured in a retelling of Noah’s Arc. This time, we again feature a duo, in something very different. Sit back and enjoy the antics of Chip and Dale in this, Schubert’s _Household Quartet_.

~o~O~o~

Most of you know that Fantasia 2000 was released sixty years after the original movie. However, Walt Disney was working on sequel ideas from the start. Some of these are mentioned in 2000, such as the “bug ballet” and “baby ballet”, as well as the _Ride of the Valkyries_ concept. However, there is one piece - _Clair de Lune_ \- that was animated and even filmed for the original Fantasia. It was cut from the final lineup, despite being finished in its entirety. Now, we welcome it back into the canon, by presenting to you Walt Disney’s _Clair de Lune_.

~o~O~o~

The next song you’ll hear is something known as a symphonic, or tone poem. A symphonic poem is a piece of orchestral music that tells the story of an existing poem, story, or artwork. It is essentially the musical equivalent of a transformative work like fanfiction. _Danse Macabre_ is a tone poem created in 1874 by Camille Saint-Saëns. The story it told was from a poem by fellow Frenchman Henri Cazalis, which in turn was based on an old French superstition.

For Fantasia 2020, we took the original intention and superstition behind _Danse Macabre_ and threw them out, going in a completely different direction for our transformative vision. However, we retain the idea of the danse, featuring a number of cultural and traditional dances. Here we follow a group that is kicking back after a long day of work, in their own unique style.

~o~O~o~

We wanted to bring you something designed with advanced computer effects to look almost realistic. This is an art form that the Disney team has been developing over the years, and our final piece shows off those developments. This piece, set on a lovely afternoon, is set to one of the _Gymnopédies_. Now the French composer, Erik Satie, actually made three _Gymnopédies_ , but the first is by far the most easily recognizable. And it is this one, _Gymnopédie No. 1_ , which we have used.

So picture yourself relaxing on your favorite lawn chair or picnic blanket, and join us for _Gymnopédie No. 1_.

~o~O~o~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes:  
> \- Please see chapter two for alt text descriptions of the videos if you are unable to watch them  
> \- If you'd like to watch them like a video, check out [this playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1GohoI7w9oJnijOltmyCG5TQl8AdyRLH)  
> \- If the Firebird Suite is blocked in your country, [try here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eG_O1wEJ40).


	2. Alt Text

**_The Planets, Op. 32_**  
Mars, the Bringer of War (First Movement)  
Composed by Gustav Holst in 1914

We open in the vastness of space, eventually zooming in on our solar system, passing the voyager crafts in the process. Flying through the outer kuiper asteroid belt, we then encounter Pluto, with its companion Charon. This leads us to Triton, Neptune’s moon. After circling Triton, we close in on Neptune, discovering its dark spot. We sail off to Uranus, passing through the rings before bursting free to see its moon, Miranda.

Our next destination is Saturn, where dozens of moons skim through its massive rings. We see Hyperion, and then duck down to visit Titan. This is followed by the first of Jupiter’s moons, Europa. While on Titan we saw huge dust storms, Europa is a world of ice plumes. Looming above is Jupiter, where we are sucked into its famous red spot. The clouds swirl ferociously until we are flung free, dodging through several more moons.

Zipping through the inner asteroid belt, past Psyche and then Ida, we arrive at Mars. Passing the global surveyor in orbit, we descend to its barren surface. Sliding through dusty gullies and foreign mountains, we see an abandoned rover, its duty done. We slip past its two moons, Phobos and Deimos, before panning around.

At last, we approach our own moon. Even more signs of our presence are on this rocky land. Rising from the surface, we begin to see the satellites and crafts clustered around the Earth. Weaving through these, we skim off the atmosphere and fly towards the sun.

A silhouette appears before it, and coasting around we bring Venus into clear sight. Once we dive through the atmosphere, we find a volcanic world full of eruptions. One envelops the camera, and when our vision clears we see Mercury in the distance.

Drawing closer, we skim it’s desolate surface before orbiting around it to see the sun. Solar flares strike repeatedly, and we fall to the surface and darkness.

~o~O~o~

**_Symphonie Fantastique_ **  
Marche au Supplice (Fourth Movement)  
Composed by Hector Berlioz in 1830

Rise on a quiet, snow-covered forest. Meandering through the trees, we come upon a frozen pond. A bird ice skates into view with a spinning jump, before continuing to cruise along the pond’s smooth surface. Other skaters join in: a cat, giraffe and bear, two geese, and a goat. An elephant does a very impressive arabesque jump. Even two penguins are seen.

A moose in a plaid flannel shirt approaches and sits beside the pond to lace on his skates. As the others skate gracefully together, he wobbily gets to his feet. The others, such as the sloth, beaver, and pig, show off their moves. The moose takes a few tentative steps, wobbles, gets tangled, and crashes to the ground. The others, including owls, dog, and polar bear, continue to skate.

The moose gets up and tries again, wobbles, and spins wildly out of control, flailing past the others before crashing to the ice. The others skate around him. The moose rises, wobbles, and falls several times.

Finally, one of the penguins approaches him and gently helps the moose to his feet. He wobbles, but the penguin holds him upright. They skate together as the moose gains confidence. The second penguin joins in, and the three skate together, as the moose improves. All the animals skate together, with some showing off very impressive moves, such as the cat, pig, and elephant.

The penguins back off, and the moose skates on his own without falling. The skating crescendos, with animals doing tricks and flying through the air. In the center, where he had fallen, the moose spins successfully.

~o~O~o~

**_The Firebird_ **  
1919 Suite  
Composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1910

The spring sprite awakens and joins the elk as they travel through the forest. Green growth appears in her wake. The sprite approaches an apparently dormant mountain, where the growth refuses to follow. Peeking inside the slightly smoking volcanic crater, the sprite touches the rock at the center.

This awakens into the Firebird, who begins to erupt with rock, fire, and lava. It chases the sprite, emerging from the now active volcano and torching the forest. The sprite flees, but eventually runs out of places to go and she is consumed.

The elk paws the ashy ground, finding the greatly diminished sprite. She clings to the elk’s horns as it canters through the devastation. The sprite’s tears fall to the ground, and again green grown springs up in her wake. Overjoyed, she gains her strength and regrows the forest. This time she is even able to reach the very edge of the now-dormant volcano, coating it in new green life.

~o~O~o~

**_Concierto de Aranjuez_ **  
Adagio (Second Movement)  
Composed by Joaquín Rodrigo in 1939

The piece opens on a hill outside a small village. As the music progresses, we zoom in on the village, winding through the streets. We enter through a stained glass window, seeing the colored light from it play on the stone wall opposite. Then we curve around and back outside through an archway. We trail down an alley, past stalls selling hats and baskets, until finally reaching a shop window.

Peering through the window, we arrive inside a stained glass workshop. Passing the colorful pieces of glass, we arrive at a piece in progress, a bright yellow-orange flower. It dissolves into the sun. The sun rises, and a nymph welcomes it. Around her, trees bud and flowers bloom. Another nymph walks through the flowers, while butterflies dip around her. Birds dart and flit around another nymph.

We jump to a different piece of stained glass, a stirring mountain scene. Sliding down, we find a waterfall at its base. We follow the resulting river as it twists and turns, rushing in places, eddying and splashing in others. Eventually it calms and flows into a pond. There, frogs and dragonflies play among the lily pads and reeds. A water nymph joins them.

We jump again, following a dragonfly that has chosen to visit a pond in a different piece of glass. This time, we sink through the water to see fish splash and weave through the stems. Eventually, we rise up through the water to see swans serenely paddling. Rising further, past the flowers on the shore, we see another nymph. She dances down the path into a garden, surrounded by beautifully colorful blooms. There, a group of peacocks cry for her attention.

A different call from afar pulls the view to another glass, this one full of trees. Rising to the canopy, we see a variety of birds. We are drawn up even further as a hawk soars on the wind. Finally, he lands on a bare branch. We slide down the trunk of this tree, revealing another nymph sitting at its base. As she reads, the breeze gently toys with her hair, and tries to flip the pages of her book. Finished, she closes her book, and we slowly zoom in on the cover, fading into darkness.

~o~O~o~

**_String Quartet No. 10 (The Household Quartet)_ **  
Scherzo Prestissimo (Second Movement)  
Composed by Franz Schubert in 1813

We open with the Chipmunk home, where Chip and Dale are relaxing. Suddenly, everything shakes! Dale is shaken off the couch! The boys can barely keep their footing as their home continues to shake. Chip pokes his head out of the knothole and sees a woodpecker pecking their tree!

Inside, their living room has become full of holes, as the woodpecker continues. Suddenly, the holes are filled with acorns. The boys stare in disbelief. Is this for real? Chip checks outside, but the woodpecker is gone, and the holes have all been filled with nuts.

The boys celebrate, and tidy up from the mess, covering the holes. Cut to winter, with the storm and wind raging outside. The boys are tucked in their cozy home, surrounded by nuts. They cheer and toast with them and happily dig into the feast.

~o~O~o~

**_Clair de Lune_ **  
Suite Bergamasque (Third Movement)  
Composed by Claude Debussy in 1905

After a brief look at the Fantasia conductor and musicians, the animated scene opens on a bright, full, moon in a slightly clouded sky. This transitions to a bayou, and we draw in on a small island where an egret is nesting. As the moonlight illuminates it, it wakes and stretches. It walks through the water for a short distance before taking off and gliding through the thick trees and past the brilliant moon.

It wheels back and lands in the water again. The ripples from its landing spread out, and we follow these. Briefly they look like the strings on a musical instrument. The moonlight sparkles on the water, and comes into focus as the ripples fade away.

New ripples disrupt it, and eventually we find that these come from a second egret. This egret takes off, and its shadow passes over the first. The first egret also takes wing and joins the second. Together they sail through the trees and into the clouds around the moon.

~o~O~o~

**_Danse Macabre_ **  
Op. 40  
Composed by Camille Saint-Saëns in 1874

We open on an office full of cubicles, at the end of the work day. One by one, computers are shut down and lights are turned off. The last bar of fluorescent lights clicks off and we are in darkness for a moment.

Then, a small desk lamp turns on. The book beneath it opens, pages flipping, until a paperclip bookmark is revealed. Another paperclip greets it, and hops up onto the book to join it. After they have finished reuniting, they dance a tango together.

Another lamp on a different desk turns on, revealing a pair of pencils. They dance a slow, heartfelt duet, before being joined by more pencils and pens as they whirl around the desktop. This segues into a traditional waltz. A pair of scissors nearby interrupts with a high-kicking routine.

Down beside the desk, a group of rulers lever some coffee cups out of the trash. The cups then proceed to perform a traditional sword dance, using the rulers as the swords. They are joined by dainty binder clip partners for the second half of the dance.

At another desk, in a different pool of light, a glue stick and a piece of paper engage in a ballet duet. A printer then produces a ballet corps of papers to continue the piece. We snake between the cubicles until we reach the back wall, full of filing cabinets. Several drawers have been pulled out, and the other denizens watch. From the top, a zig-zag post-it stack tumbles down the file drawers like a slinky. This is followed by a second and another.

On the shelves beside the cabinets, a stapler and staple remover play a flirtatious game of hide and seek amongst the binders located there. Eventually the stapler catches up with its partner and they share a slow, tender dance.

Suddenly, all of the lights are flung on, and we bounce around the room, seeing glimpses of each of the previous groups as they work themselves into a frenzy!

They finish, and attention is drawn to the window. The sun begins to rise through it, bathing the office in a golden glow. One by one, the office denizens return to their places, leaving no sign of their danse.

~o~O~o~

**_Gymnopédie_ **  
No. 1  
Composed by Erik Satie in 1888

This piece opens on a fluffy white cloud, hanging in a clear blue sky. It looks like realistic CGI, not traditional animation. The cloud has a slight curly protrusion. As the music continues, it morphs into an elephant, the protrusion forming a perfect trunk. It trumpets to the music. This then morphs into a dolphin, with trunk becoming bottle nose, and ears becoming fins. The dolphin leaps and dives into the clouds below as though they were water.

The fins morph into ears, and suddenly it is a rabbit, twitching its nose. This is followed by a lioness grooming her ear, who then settles down for a nap. Her outstretched paws and tail elongate, transforming her into a wispy feather, which floats and spins on the breeze. It “settles” and becomes a bear, reclining on it’s back. This is followed by a puppy, all ears and paws, which gambools about for a moment.

The puppy becomes a frisky horse, pawing at the “ground” beneath it. The sun is lower in the sky now, giving a bit of an ethereal glow to the horse’s tail and mane. It gallops and bucks, it’s mane streaming behind it. This mane then morphs into a hump, followed by the rest of the camel, which plods along. The cloud no longer looks pure white, but darker in contrast to the closer light. Then the camel’s neck stretches into a beak, it’s hump and legs into wings, and now it is a fledgeling bird, awkward and ungainly. It takes a few tentative hops, then, flapping its wings, takes flight for the first time. The sun is now closer to the horizon, lighting the wings from below and bathing them in a golden glow that contrasts with the darker texture of the cloud.

The bird transforms into a serpentine dragon, long and undulating, with red and orange sunlight haloing it. After crossing the sky, it begins to circle, spiralling down around the sun, just touching the horizon. This spiral holds for a moment, before morphing into a heart as the sun flares, bathing the sky in pink and purple light. The heart remains as the sun disappears, and the sky fades to night.

~o~O~o~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Notes:  
> \- All images for the _Planets_ suite are from NASA  
> \- All images of the village in _Concierto de Aranjuez_ are of Cordoba, Spain  
> \- I planned to do a piece to one movement of the Grand Canyon suite. I had forgotten that the small clip from that score played with the Grand Canyon diorama at Disneyland was there _because_ of the (longer than a Fantasia segment) Disney [symphonic poem set to the whole Suite](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp6voHf5kvE). I’d seen it before, but it had slipped my mind. If you like Fantasia, you might like this.


End file.
